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of this same quality. Characters would be “matter” or “content” like any other type of information to be found in literature, e.g., facts from navigation, astronomy, or
history. So, literary psychology is a study that reviewing behavior, attitude, mental,
and mind of human through literature. It can be psychology of the writer, reader, or the character on a literary work.
2.2 Character
A character in a novel is a representative of human being in real life. The more we love a character or the more we hate them it shows that the characters are
drawn from life. In every story, there is always good and bad character. Each one of them has specific role and certain aim. Even there is bad character, she is not born
evil, and the conditions change them. Indeed, in certain condition, bad character can be a savior. When we can feel the character’s feeling; look in the same perception of
their vision; and think the way they think, while reading the novel, so the author’s purpose is achieved.
It is very important to make character in literary works could represent the real character in real life. The nature of character presentation brings a positive
impact for readers to find out what is going on and what is it for. Since, the character mirrors quality of person. It can be traced to generalize opinion for man in general.
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction by Kennedy 1983: 47 said that character is an imagined person who exists in the story. Characters in novels are not just like real
life people. Characters in novels have been especially created by authors. When author creates characters, he selects some aspects of ordinary people then develops
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some of those aspects. The result is not ordinary people but fictional characters that only exist in the words of novel.
There are some definitions of character according to the writer. Barnet 1983: 71 says, “Character, of course, has two meanings: 1 a figure in literary work, such
as; Hamlet and 2 personality, that is, the mental and moral qualities of a figure, as when we say what X’s character is strong, or weak, or immoral, etc”. Edgar V.
Roberts 1995:45 says, “A character, then, is presumably an imagined person who inhabits a story.” Whether Kennedy 1983:131 says, “In novel, a character may be
defined as a verbal representation of a human being.” Basically, character has its traits. Traits can be the quality of mind or habitual
mode of behavior, such as never repaying borrowed money, or avoiding eye contact, or always thinking oneself the center of intention. Sometimes, of course, the traits we
encounter are minor and therefore negligible. But often a trait may be a person’s primary characteristic.
Just like real human beings, characters are deal with a certain hand in life. Some hands are good ones, others aren’t. How characters play out their hands
determines their fate. It is the experience of that fate, as strongly as we can feel it, that we follow as we read. Every main character is challenged in some way. One way
of looking at this challenge is to see it as a situation in which a character’s abilities and experience are in sufficient to solve the problem at hand. It is by engaging in
these challenges, overcoming some, succumbing to others that characters develop. They are changed as a result of what happened to them as they try to solve their
problems and reach their goals. Roberts and Jacobs 1993: 136 in his book entitled Literature: An
Introduction to Reading and Writing said that character should be true to real life. In
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fiction, character may be defined as a verbal presentation of human being. Trough action, speech, description, and commentary, authors portray characters that are
worth caring about rooting for, analyzed even loving, although these are also characters to be laughed, dislike or even hated.
Robert Diyanni in Literature 2
nd
edition 1990:36 explores how the literary writers presents and reveals the character. He generalizes and lists methods of
revealing character in fiction. Firstly, it is narrative summary without judgment. Secondly, all it is narrative description with implied or explicit judgment. Thirdly, it
is about surface details of dress physical appearance. Fourthly, it is about characters actions of what they do and the characters speech of what the say and how they say
it; and finally, it is about the characters consciousness of what they think and feel. From the statement above we can simplify that character in fiction is
description and representation of a person qualities. The creation or delegation of character or characters in touch with the actions, gesture, or speech existing in the
work by so doing, character is a fictitious living person that has personal qualities of a real person has.
A character in a work of fiction may realize in a character in a work of in a number of ways. Character, after all, has been constructed to make out reported
actions, the words they are give to say and the commentary made of on them by their creator. Something must depend on how they are presented.
It has often been assumed that characters in a literary work can be judged from four levels characterization by D.D.Runes
in http:www.goodreads.combookshow11916699-despotism---a-pictoral-history-of-
tyranny 1963. These four levels of characterization are helpful for us to see the very basic description of characters. The four levels of characterization are:
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1. Physical: physical level of character supplies such basic facts, as sex, age, and size. It is the simplest level of characterization because it reveals external
traits only. 2. Social: social level of characterization includes economic status,
profession, religion, family and social relationships –all those factors that place a character in his environment.
3. Psychological: psychological level of character reveals habitual responses, attitudes, desires, motivation, likes and dislikes –the inner workings of the
mind, both emotional and intellectual which lead to action. Since feeling, thought, and behavior define a character more fully than physical and social
traits and since a literary work usually arises from desires in conflict, the psychological level is the most essential parts of characterization.
4. Moral: moral level of character decisions more clearly differentiate characters than any other level of characterization. The choices by a character
when he is faced with a moral crisis show whether he is selfish, a hypocrite, greedy, miserly, or he is the one who always acts accordingto his belief. A
moral decision usually causes a character to examine his own motives and values, and in the process, his true nature is revealed both to himself and to
the readers. John Peck and Martin Coyle in Literary Terms and Criticism 1984: 109
explained that the realistic novelist offers a subtle analysis of his character, but the fiction novelist takes a simpler view that man’s lusts and desires disrupt life, it might
be a less subtle view, but it is disturbing one, as it emphasizes the irrational impulses that motivate people.
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Characters can be divided into three subdivisions such as main character, minor character, and also leading character. Main character is the character whose
appearance is the most frequently appear in the story and dominant of the story. Minor character can be defined as the supporting character of the main character and
the appearance of minor character is usually infrequently while leading character is the centered individual who is very dominant. Leading character is focused
personally and it is different with main character which can involve more than one character.
We often feel sympathy for a character when reading a literary work; on the other hand, we may feel unsympathetic for another. A character’s honesty, boldness,
or suffering may create a moving story that stirs our emotion and feeling. On the contrary, a character who is wicked, cruel, dishonest, etc, may give rise to our
dislike. The ability of an author to describe his characters makes a reader feel that he is watching the reality of human life, and, consequently, the literary work becomes
more interesting. Grace Adams is a leading character because she is the center of the whole
story. Her appearances construct every event of the novel ‘Malice’. She has round character. It is reflected by her action, behavior, and also thought.
2.3 Child Abuse Abuse—physical, verbal, or emotional maltreatment—can leave
